Chapter Two

Jamie had barely slept a wink that night, when he opened his eyes he saw that Calista was gone. He was a bit worried, what if she had fallen? Jamie quickly climbed down and saw her at the bank of a river he hadn't seen the night before. She had two fish on a spear and she was attempting to start a small fire.

"Hungry?" She questioned and his stomach answered for him. She cooked the fish and handed them to him.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"I don't really eat… anymore… after you've been here long enough you become less than human." She said criptically. He wanted to ask how long she had been there, but he remembered that was a bit of a touchy subject. Jamie at the fish and rinsed his hands in the water.

"I didn't see this river last night." Jamie said.

"That's because this place moves around, it starts to drive you mad after a while." They were quiet for sometime, Jamie watched as parts of the forest twisted and changed. A chill ran down his spine, everything about this place gave him the creeps.

"What did you mean earlier, about being less than human?" He wondered, not sure if he really wanted the answer.

"You said you were Catholic right?" She asked and he nodded. "You remember Leviathans?" She questioned and it made him shiver.

"Kind of, they're primeval monsters." Jamie said.

"They're created not born. Stay here long enough, Purgatory changes you into one. It tears and twists your soul until there is nothing human left." She explained and Jamie's eyes widened in horror.

Meanwhile on Earth.*

Linda check Jamie's IV and brushed a few stray hairs from his forehead.

"Jamie, you have to wake up. This family can't lose another son." She said and kissed his forehead.. Henry walked in and looked at his grandson.

"How is he?"

"He is stable, and one of the night nurses said she saw him move a couple times." Linda told him.

"Do you think he'll pull through?" Henry asked.

"Jamie is a fighter, he'll be fine." Linda assured him. Linda left the room to attend to other patients. When she came back around noon, Danny was there.

"Hey, Lin." Danny greeted. Linda walked over and gave him a quick hug and a kiss.

"How's my baby brother?" He questioned.

"No change since this morning. Don't worry Danny, he is going to be ok." She told him.

"I can't lose another brother, not like this, not now." Danny said softly as tears gathered in his eyes. Linda pulled him close and ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. Though she wasn't sure if Jamie would make it, she had to have hope, for Danny's sake. That night they all went to Frank's house for dinner and invited Eddie. It was a quiet and somber meal as they all stared at the empty spot where Jamie should have been sitting.

"Danny would you like to say grace?" Frank asked.

"Dad, I don't think I can." He sighed.

"Erin?" Frank questioned and she shook her head. Frank looked around the table, Nikki clung to her mother, Linda hung her head, and the boys fidgeted.

"Frank, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to." Eddie said, she had found herself praying non stop since the night before, she might as well say grace.

"Go ahead Eddie." Eddie prayed for Jamie before blessing the food that no one really felt like eating.

Back in Purgatory.*

The journey to the cave was quiet apart from the occasional growls and howls of the wind. When they reached the cave Jamie looked around and saw a few earthly possessions.

"Home sweet home." She sighed.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Jamie wondered.

"Sometimes people bring things with them, things they are connected to." She told him. Jamie found a relatively clean place to sit and sat down. Feeling a little warm, he took off his button up shirt and vest. He saw the bullet hole in his clothes, but there was no wound.

"Earthly injuries don't follow you here." Calista told him. Jamie looked her over, her clothes were tattered and torn in many places, but they only injuries she had were a few scratches from the hellhound.

"How did you die?" He wondered.

"Overdose." She said simply and started closing off the entrance to the cave. This certainly wasn't how Jamie imagined the afterlife, hiding from hellhounds, in a cave, with an ex-junkie monster. Jamie reflected on his life, all the things he wished he could change, all the things he should have said. He wondered what Eddie was doing? How she was handling his death? He thought about his family and his empty seat at the dinner table. He thought about the way family dinners felt after Joe's death, and how Danny would bottle everything up. Jamie would never regret becoming a cop, he just regretted the things he didn't do before his time was up.